Johnson rushes for three TDs, Chiefs make playoffs

Johnson rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns to lead the
Chiefs to a 35-30 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in a
game between AFC teams that entered the day with slim wild-card
hopes.

The Chiefs (9-7) needed losses by Cincinnati, Tennessee and AFC
West rival Denver on Sunday to keep alive their playoff hopes.

Sure enough, all of those scenarios occurred for the Chiefs, who
failed to make the playoffs with a 10-6 record last season in
Dick Vermeil's final year as coach. However, coach Herman
Edwards was much more fortunate.

"Last year we put ourselves in a situation where it was out of
our control and we didn't make it," Chiefs Pro Bowl guard Brian
Waters said. "This year we were in the same situation."

But in a year when the Chiefs lost their beloved founder Lamar
Hunt, who died of cancer on December 14, they appeared to
benefit from divine intervention.

Cincinnati lost in overtime to Pittsburgh, Tennessee was beaten
by New England and Denver, which was favored to beat San
Francisco, lost to the 49ers when Nedney kicked a 36-yard field
goal with 1:56 left in overtime. Even a tie would have been
good enough to get the Broncos into the playoffs and bump the
Chiefs.

"I heard my wife screaming so I said, 'Something must have
happened good,'" Edwards said. "I figured if I started watching,
something bad was probably going to happen."

The Chiefs honored Hunt in their first home game since his death
with video tributes before and during the game.

The Jaguars (8-8) closed the season with three straight losses.
They were officially eliminated from playoff contention when the
New York Jets won earlier in the day.

"To walk away, losing three games in a row, that ain't no good
feeling," Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer said. "If anybody
in here says this season was a success, they're lying to you.
There's no way in the world this season was a success, after
losing three straight games."

It was another successful season for Johnson, who set an NFL
single-season record with 416 carries, eclipsing Jamal
Anderson's mark of 410 for Atlanta in 1998. Johnson also broke
his own club record with 1,789 rushing yards, 39 more than his
total last year.

"It's a testament to the offensive line," Johnson said. "And
fullback Kris Wilson did an awesome job coming in after being a
tight end. The receivers and everybody else had a hand in my
success this season.

"Hopefully, I won't have over 400 attempts after every season,
but now you know you don't have to worry about tiring me out
because you know how far I can go."

LaDainian Tomlinson of San Diego won the rushing title with
1,815 yards.

Johnson dove into the end zone for a one-yard score on a
4th-and-goal play with 7:09 left in the second quarter to give
the Chiefs a 14-10 lead.

Trent Green connected with Eddie Kennison on a 35-yard touchdown
with 1:52 remaining in the first half to increase the advantage
to 21-10. Kennison finished with six catches for 144 yards.

"Coach Edwards expressed since day one that there had to be a
mindset that anything less than the playoffs was not
acceptable," said Green, who was 14-of-21 for 181 yards with two
interceptions. "It was the focus from top to bottom."

On the Jaguars' first series of the second half, cornerback Ty
Law intercepted a pass by David Garrard and returned it 16 yards
to the Jacksonville 2. Johnson scored on the next play to give
the Chiefs a 28-10 lead with 12:08 left in the third quarter.

Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio then replaced Garrard with Quinn
Gray, who had appeared in only one game in three seasons and
began the year as the third-string quarterback behind injured
Byron Leftwich and Garrard, who was 10-of-18 for 140 yards and a
touchdown.

Gray directed three touchdown drives, finishing two of them off
with scoring runs of nine and 17 yards. He was 13-of-22 for 166
yards.

"I wanted to give our football team a spark," Del Rio said of
his decision to switch quarterbacks. "He did a nice job of
giving us the spark and leading us to scores and giving us an
opportunity."

The Jaguars pulled within 35-30 when rookie Maurice Jones-Drew
scored on a five-yard run with five minutes left in the fourth
quarter following a fumble by Green.

However, the Chiefs consumed the rest of the time as Johnson
rushed for 27 yards and Green scrambled for seven yards on a
3rd-and-6 play. Kansas City got a break when Michael Bennett
recovered his own fumble after a seven-yard run to the
Jacksonville 41 with 2:15 left.

"There at the end, we just needed the ball back and they played
keepaway," Del Rio said.

Rookie Bernard Pollard blocked a punt by Chris Hanson and
recovered it in the end zone to give the Chiefs a 7-0 lead 5:50
into the game.

Garrard hit running back Fred Taylor with a 26-yard touchdown 54
seconds into the second quarter to tie the game.